Lobster Thermidor

None of us expected to fall in love with this dish when we tested it, but we all did. Most Thermidor recipes yield something that tastes stodgy and heavy, but this version, by 1940s Gourmet chef Louis P. De Gouy, is almost sleek.

Preparation

Plunge lobsters headfirst into an 8-quart pot of boiling salted water*. Loosely cover pot and cook lobsters over moderately high heat 9 minutes from time they enter water, then transfer with tongs to sink to cool.

Whisk together yolks and remaining tablespoon Sherry in a small bowl. Slowly pour remaining 1/2 cup hot cream into yolks, whisking constantly, and transfer to a small heavy saucepan. Cook custard over very low heat, whisking constantly, until it is slightly thickened and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Add custard to lobster mixture, stirring gently.

Preheat broiler.

Arrange lobster shells, cut sides up, in a shallow baking pan and spoon lobster with some of sauce into shells. Broil lobsters 6 inches from heat until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

When salting water for cooking, use 1 tablespoon salt for every 4 quarts water.

Made this for New Year's dinner for two, exactly as written, except that I did the components in stages and combined at the end. She said, "I don't think one hundredth of one percent of folks are eating this well."

I was looking for an easy Lobster Theridor recipe. Did not want to spend all day preparing like the Julia Child recipe. This turned out way better than expected. I used Salted butter instead of unsalted. Penzey's sweet Hungarian Paprika (the absolute best Paprika), Sea Salt to taste, and some chopped Vidalia onions with mushrooms. Last, I sprinkled some grated Parmesian cheese on them before broiling. Otherwise I followed recipe explicitly. Absolutely Fantastic!! Next time I am going to try with bay scallops intead of Lobster! ; )

I cooked a miropoix then the rue separate, combined them and then spiced it and added the sherry, I used pecorino Romano at 1-3 against panko. Turned out fantastic. I had it this way 20 years ago at a restaurant in DC. Super great!

I found this recipe reminded me, at age 70, very much of too many old recipes which seemed to be based on sleek presentation rather than interesting flavor. It is sort of a Lobster Newburg with mushrooms and paprika, prepared with too many steps and then put in empty shells to look impressive. Glad I tried it; wouldn't use is again.

I made this almost
exactly as written
and found it divine.
Our lobster shells
did not survive the
meat-removal
process, so we ended
up broiling the
mixture in a
casserole dish
instead. Make sure
you have some bread
to sop up the
incredible sauce!

OMG...this was absolutely devine! I added a little leek with the mushrooms and substituted the sherry (cldn't find any) with Chinese Xiaoxin cooking wine with a little sugar and it turned out absolutely fantastic! Really simple recipe with brilliant results, will definitely be making this again.

We made with lobster tails, just 10 ounces - removed meat, cleaned, chopped and sautéd lightly in olive oil. Increased the amount of mushrooms. Served on white rice - made an excellent and not too heavy meal. Served with green salad. I think it could be made without the lobster - excellent balanced flavor.

A decadent meal that is easy to make and absolutely delicious. If you are squeamish about the lobsters, try asking your local fish market to clean them for you. Then simply cook them and remove the meat. My New Years Eve specialty, of course I'm making it tonight! Go ahead, try it!

Made it last night for my birthday
dinner. I did all of the cooking and
making the sauce during the day.
Insted of putting it back in the
shells I used ramikins and toped
them with buttered panko crumbs and
kept them covered in the frig. To
reheat I put them in a water bath
and covered with foil and heated in
a 350 oven for 20 minutes. took off
the foil and poped them under the
broiler for just a few minutes to
brown the tops. I also added some
minced shollots and a little more
sherry. Very good recipe we will
make again for sure!

Yum, made this last night using lobster tails as I, like several other reviewers, just can't bring myself to plunge a live lobster into a pot. This wasn't very difficult but did have a wow factor. I agree that a splash of lemon at the end is nice. Served with seeded bread to soak up the sauce and roasted asparagus too. Delish!

Yummy - but rich. I think this is better as a side in
a surf and turf - or an appetizer rather than a full
dinner portion. I think a squeeze of lemon at the
end would have been good- but I made exactly
according to the recipe other than just using lobster
tails - so it was fast and easy.

Wow! What an excellent recipe! I
only made two modifications.. I used
lobster tails rather than whole
lobsters (squeamish about the live
lobsters), and I made puff pastry
cups to serve the thermidor in
rather than using the shells. My
husband and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this
recipe!!! Can't wait to make it
again! We are thinking of making
appetizer sized pastry cups to serve
it in for the holidays along with
the rest of our holiday meal!
YUM!

This was wonderful served in 4 1/2-inch puff pastry vol-au-vent shells. I had larger lobsters and omitted the mushrooms. (We'd had mushrooms for lunch that day and I didn't want them again at dinner.) I cut the lobster meat a little larger and because my lobsters were females, I added some of the roe (coral) put through a fine sieve. I also upped the sherry a bit because I found you couldn't really taste the small amount given in the recipe.

made this for valentines day! OUTSTANDING! cooked 2 two pound lobsters i live on Cape Cod so i can pick a lobster pretty quickly and used ramekins not the shells,just delicious! served with rice pilaf and asparagus to rave reviews

I have made Thermidor before but with
a cream sauce versus the custard one here, and this one is far superior !
only addition I made was to add 2 finely diced Shallots to the butter and mushrooms. Because i only could get my hands on the tails, i actually served it over seared Filet Mignons ( Surf-n-Turf of any kind is my favorite, but this was beyond what i have ever made. Try it !!

I found frozen langostinos at Trader
Joe - little "loberster tails?" I
guess. Anyhow, I used them and I
substituted 1/2 and 1/2 for the cream
and it made an outstanding meal. Cut
the time down to 15 minutes.

Very special Christmas Eve dinner. Since I
bought the lobster meat already shelled, it was
quick and easy to put together. Also, my sauce
wasn't at all thick, but I didn't mind. Despite the
sherry and the cream, it wasn't too rich either.
Next time I will try this over risotto.
Homemade cole slaw is a wonderful side dish -
fresh cabbage with a tsp sugar, vinegar, and
mayo, plus salt and pepper to taste. It brought a
taste of summer to our "white Christmas."

LOVED IT! Increased the paprika and sherry just a bit plus a dash of cayenne to pick up the finish a bit. Used diced not chopped oyster and cremini mushrooms and sauteed. Finished with mixture/custard under broiler in phyllo cups, then a fresh chive for phenominal appetizer! Crazy flavor/great presentation. Perfect for the holiday season.

As crazy as this sounds,
my husband and I turned
this recipe into Lobster
Thermidor mac &
cheese! It was
spectacular. We added a
can of crab meat, too,
but wouldn't do that
again because it was a
bit too sweet. We had a
similar dish at our
favourite local pub and
wanted to do it at home.
Don't omit the sherry - it
brings all the flavours
together.